Now this is definitely a curious and utmost interesting B- horror/monster movie from the late fifties! The peculiar element is that "The Manster" was an American/Japanese co-production, meaning the events entirely take place in Tokyo while the characters (with the exception of the lead villain and some random casualties) are all Caucasian. High in the mountains, the self-acclaimed brilliant Dr. Suzuki is messing around with evolution theories and mutations. He's not very successful, though, as he just had to destroy a monstrous creation that went on a murdering rampage and he has another aberration locked up in a cage. When he meets foreign correspondent Larry Stanford, however, the crazy doctor immediately sees the ideal specimen for another experiment and promptly puts a drug in his whiskey. Larry undergoes a lengthy metamorphosis, not just physically but also in terms of behavior and personality, and discovers that the pains in his neck and left hand are foreboding signs of a hideous monster growing inside of him. A monster that desperately wants to pop out! The changing process Larry goes through is rather unusual. It's actually more of a "Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde" journey of doom in which our poor journalist gets corrupted under the influence of Dr. Suzuki and his lewd assistant Tara. Apparently "getting acquainted with Japanese culture" means binge- drinking, taking numerous public baths and committing adultery with several Geishas, as Larry changes from a hard-working and wife- loving American into a sleazy and obnoxious … Japanese citizen? That's quite racist, if you ask me, but it were the fifties and there were as many Japanese crew-members and producers involved as American ones, so I reckon they knew what they were doing. "The Manster" is more remarkable and special than the vast majority of 50s Sci-Fi/horror flicks thanks to a few impressive special effects (the eye in the shoulder was copied a number of times) and the bizarre atmosphere of conflicting cultures. In case you can't help thinking Larry's voice sounds familiar, it means you were also hooked on a legendary puppet-series… Thunderbirds are GO!

So - Are two heads better than one? Well - I guess you'll just have to watch this truly zany, Sci-Fi flick called "The Manster" to find out the answer to that daunting question.Released in 1962 - The Manster is actually a kinda fun Mad Scientist/Horror movie to watch, providing, of course, that one doesn't take its goofy, far-fetched story at all seriously.I found The Manster to be one of those outrageously low-budget, fright flicks from that particular era that was so bad that, somehow, it was actually (almost) good.I think that it was a very wise move on the part of the director, George Breakston, to see to it that news-reporter Larry Stanford's hideous, two-headed transformation was kept partially concealed within the shadows of near-darkness - Otherwise the intended horror of Larry's horrific predicament would've, I'm sure, been completely lost by a string of unintentional laughs.All-in-all - Even though I would never, ever consider The Manster to be great horror, I still thought that it was a least well-worth one honest viewing.

A Japanese scientist named Dr. Suzuki is doing human experiments on "volunteers"- mostly from his family- in attempt to chemically recreate the conditions that will precipitate an evolutionary mutation...then keeps them locked up in his lab when they become mutant freaks or monsters. He even kills and burns his own brother- a yeti looking thing- after he escapes one night.When Larry, an American foreign correspondent, comes to investigate the Doctor's work, he gets drugged. While he is passed out, the Doctor injects him with an enzyme that will cause him to mutate, both physically and psychologically- changing him into a psychopathic "manster".His hand first turns into a monster hand, and he starts to get the overwhelming urge to kill people.After murdering a monk, Larry starts to go crazy. He leaves his wife, stops working and starts acting all erratic. This makes his editor suspicious- especially after he sees Larry with a set of Buddhist prayer beads.After randomly murdering a few more people, things get progressively worse for Larry. An eye starts to form on his shoulder. And this soon sprouts into a second beastial head.Monster Larry is now forced to go on the lam, with the cops chasing him- and that's pretty much how the rest of the movie goes. The film inevitably concludes with a final rager and showdown, with a slight twist.In the end, I was personally left with one question: how come every mother*cker in Tokyo- other than whores and beat cops- is f*cking white!? You'd think Japan was an American imperialized colony based on watching this film!!! The film is nicely shot- particularly that last scene with the volcano smoking in the background- and it does touch upon a few interesting concepts. But overall it's a pretty mediocre film (ruined slightly by it's moralistic explanatory endnote). I mean, the whole thing makes the Japanese look like monsters or idiots worthy of death. While the Americans act like they are their saviours- taking a position of moral authority (both thematically, and in the work-related positions they hold), and using that to dominate their Japanese inferiors.This film is most notable for the homage it receives from Sam Raimi in Army of Darkness- when Ash gets an eye on his shoulder; Evil Ash's head pops out and the two eventually split apart. 4 out of 10.

I remember this movie from Saturday Creature Features when I was a kid. The only scenes I remember are 1) An eye on his shoulder, 2) he grows a second head and 3) He drops a Japanese babe in a kimono into a volcano.Although this was filmed in Japan, I'm not even entirely sure that babe was Japanese or not, now that I've seen it again. (and this is her only IMDb credit, based on the fact she couldn't act.) So the plot (no really, let's call it that) is that an American Reporter is injected with a serum that is supposed to effect his evolution. (Obviously written by people who have no idea what Evolution is or how it works.) He also becomes kind of a jerk, cheating on his wife, living a wild life, not doing his job and eventually turning into a badly filmed two-headed monster.Bad lighting, bad make up, bad acting. Gets a little credit for doing inter-racial sexuality during the Hayes board period.